Waterloo Hy-Vee On University Ave. Closing

Waterloo will be losing one its four Hy-Vee stores at the end of next month.

The Iowa-based company plans to permanently close its grocery store at 4000 University Ave. at 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, 2018. Company officials made the announcement in a press release on Monday.

“The University Hy-Vee has served as a neighborhood store for many nearby residents for a number of years, and we understand it will be missed by its customers,” said Darren Baty, executive vice president of Hy-Vee’s northern region. “It’s always difficult when we make store adjustments, but we must keep pace with customers’ shopping behaviors and meet their needs through excellent customer service and more modern amenities.”

According to the corporate news release announcing the move, the University Hy-Vee is being shuttered because it has not met sales expectations for many years. Additionally, the space no longer reflects the current Hy-Vee brand.

Photo By: Elwin Huffman - Townsquare Media

Hy-Vee has been a fixture on University Ave. for more than four decades. The grocery store initially opened there in 1977, sharing space with Kmart in the discount retailer's building just across Progress Ave. to the east. Hy-Vee moved to its current location -- the site of the former Starlite Drive-In Theatre -- in 1993.

The University Ave. store has about 280 full- and part-time employees, who will be given the chance to fill positions at other area Hy-Vees. Company officials said workers at the University Hy-Vee were told about the store's closure Monday morning. Pharmacy customers will have their prescriptions transferred to the Ansborough Ave. Hy-Vee or another pharmacy of their choosing.

The demise of Hy-Vee's University Ave. grocery store will not effect the nearby Hy-Vee convenience store at 3700 University Ave, which recently opened on the former site of Platt's Nursery. According to company officials, Hy-Vee Gas will remain open at that location after the grocery store closes.

“Hy-Vee remains committed to the Waterloo community,” said Baty. “We have continued to invest and improve our other area stores through remodeling projects that include the addition of coffee shops, food courts and in-store restaurants. We want to thank the community and all of the customers who choose Hy-Vee, and invite them to shop at one of our four other Hy-Vee locations in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area."

In addition to the store on University Ave., Hy-Vee's other metro locations are: